New gaming desktop

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ConfusedWife

Junior Member
Dec 12, 2010
2
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Ok here is the situation. I want to obtain a new gaming desktop computer for my husband who plays mmpg (WOW) he also likes to upload pictures and download music. He currently has the Dell XPS 17" laptop but the sound card is gone ruined not sure what and the cd/dvd drive no longer reads. So what would be the best pre-built computer I should look at in the $1200.00 or less range? I have no clue what to even look for as far as components. I do know it needs a pretty good graphics card. I was thinking the ATI Radeon but not sure which one. Or is the Nvidia's better now? please help. i do not have cash so this will have to be a place that i can get credit from to build or have it pre-built. I do know someone who does it on the side but not sure how good he really is and if it could be done in time for christmas. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for.
Mostly heavy gaming WOW, likes to listen and download music as well as photos
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
I would like to not spend more then 1200.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
Not a fan of any to be honest just heard ATI and Nvidia are the best to be had in graphics card area right now
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Will be using own keyboard WOW gaming board and own mouse again WOW mouse.
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
I have done a little research and I feel that maybe a dual graphics card would be best for the build but i really don't know anything about framrate, power, ect...
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Not sure what overclocking is. Would this be better for gaming?
8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
need recommendation.
9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
ASAP, this is a christmas gift.

I will need a monitor as well for this build and would like at least a 22"
 
Last edited:
erikistired

erikistired

Diamond Member
Sep 27, 2000
9,739
0
0
quite honestly i would shop dell, i'm sure they will be having some sales this time of year. you don't need massive power to play WoW, even on a 22" monitor.

edit: i just jumped on the site and was able to build a desktop capable of doing what you want for around a thousand, with a 21.5" monitor. if you wanted to spend the extra money you can still upgrade the monitor and video card.
 
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ConfusedWife

Junior Member
Dec 12, 2010
2
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0
This is a build i found on Dell what do you all think?

Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-650 processor(4MB Cache, 3.20GHz)
OPS: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English
Memory: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs
optional : 12GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs Add $160.00
Monitor:ST2320L 23-inch Full HD Widescreen Monitor
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB DDR3
optional:
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5
1024MB nVidia GeForce GT220
nVidia GeForce GTS240 1024MB GDDR3
ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB GDDR5
Hard Drive: 1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
Optical Drive: 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Wireless: Dell 1525 WLAN PCIe card with11n mini-Card & external antenna
TV Tuner: Hauppauge HVR1250 hybrid TV Tuner with Remote Control
Soundcard: THX® TruStudio PC™

 
T

TheUnk

Golden Member
Jun 24, 2005
1,810
0
71
Be careful with Dell. You may end up with some proprietary parts that make upgrades hard.
 
D

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
Here is a guide to WoW performance:

Edit, fixed link: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793.html


For video cards at 1680x1050 screen resolution, a Radeon 5770 or nvidia GTS 450 or GTX 460 768MB is great. For 1920 x 1080 a Radeon 6850 or nvidia GTX 460 1GB (not the GTX 460 SE!) is ideal.

For the CPU / processor, WoW likes Intel processors much better than AMD, even a Core i3 beats a fast AMD X4. If you do get an AMD X4 (quad-core) will be much faster than an AMD X2 dual core, even at 1680x1050 screen resolution, and it needs to be at least 3.2 GHz speed.
 
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sgrinavi

sgrinavi

Diamond Member
Jul 31, 2007
4,537
0
76
You don't need all that RAM and that video card is OK for watching videos, but not so great for gaming.

Personally if you are in the USA I would look at the Dell Outlet site. Pretty much new systems for 2/3rds the price.

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...x?brandId=2202&c=us&cs=22&fid=1051&l=en&s=dfh

This one is $1079 and will kick some major WOW butt...

  • Studio XPS 8100 Desktop
  • Processor: Intel Core i7-870 Processor (8MB Cache, 2.93GHz)
  • Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
  • 1.5 TB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
  • 8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
  • 16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
  • 1024MB ATI Radeon HD 5770 GDDR5

You will have to add a display, but that can be had for $150 no prob....





ConfusedWife said:
This is a build i found on Dell what do you all think?

Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-650 processor(4MB Cache, 3.20GHz)
OPS: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English
Memory: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs
optional : 12GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs Add $160.00
Monitor:ST2320L 23-inch Full HD Widescreen Monitor
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB DDR3
optional:
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5
1024MB nVidia GeForce GT220
nVidia GeForce GTS240 1024MB GDDR3
ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB GDDR5
Hard Drive: 1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
Optical Drive: 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Wireless: Dell 1525 WLAN PCIe card with11n mini-Card & external antenna
TV Tuner: Hauppauge HVR1250 hybrid TV Tuner with Remote Control
Soundcard: THX® TruStudio PC™
Click to expand...
 
erikistired

erikistired

Diamond Member
Sep 27, 2000
9,739
0
0
DaveSimmons said:
Here is a guide to WoW performance:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2127065

For video cards at 1680x1050 screen resolution, a Radeon 5770 or nvidia GTS 450 or GTX 460 768MB is great. For 1920 x 1080 a Radeon 6850 or nvidia GTX 460 1GB (not the GTX 460 SE!) is ideal.

For the CPU / processor, WoW likes Intel processors much better than AMD, even a Core i3 beats a fast AMD X4. If you do get an AMD X4 (quad-core) will be much faster than an AMD X2 dual core, even at 1680x1050 screen resolution, and it needs to be at least 3.2 GHz speed.
Click to expand...

your link opened this thread again.

i have an ati 4850 1gb, amd phenom 2 x4 940 and 4gb of ram and can run wow at 1680 with no issues at all.
 
EliteRetard

EliteRetard

Diamond Member
Mar 6, 2006
6,490
1,022
136
Optionally, you could get an XPS 7100 AMD system with a six core AMD CPU and a 5870 for a similar price. The processor would be a little slower but the video card would be almost twice as fast. It might be a better balanced system overall, the increase in video card power would allow allot of other games to played at higher settings.
 
Lanyap

Lanyap

Elite Member
Dec 23, 2000
8,301
2,397
136
TheUnk said:
Be careful with Dell. You may end up with some proprietary parts that make upgrades hard.
Click to expand...


About the only proprietary parts left in regular Dell home desktops may be motherboards and CPU cooling in the higher end models. Everything else that you would upgrade is standard - PSU, HD, optical, RAM, CPU, etc.

Dell Studio XPS 8100
dell-studio-xps-8100-p_587751vb.png
 
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Lanyap

Lanyap

Elite Member
Dec 23, 2000
8,301
2,397
136
To ConfusedWife, you need to be aware of the ship date if you get Dell to build you a system. The new 8100 system linked earlier has a Preliminary Ship Date: 1/5/2011.

They have a few already built systems that they can ship in a few days but they don't have anything nice like the 8100.

Other option, as mentioned above, is to find a nice system in Dell outlet. They ship fast and have the same warranty as a new system.
 
Raswan

Raswan

Senior member
Jan 29, 2010
702
6
81
DaveSimmons said:
D'oh! copied wrong address bar, here's the link to WoW Cataclysm GPU and CPU performance review at TomsHardware:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793.html
Click to expand...

While interesting for the rest of us, this isn't really going to do anything but confuse her. Same with all of the other posts that mention specific video cards or cpus. Build her a rig, instead of mentioning specific components. C'mon people, we're supposed to be helpful!

I'll second sgrinavi's suggestion. That looks like a decent rig, even though the i7-870 is mucho overkill (someone else suggested the i5-760, which is perfect for you. In terms of gaming, the i7 does not do any better than the i5, so you're just wasting money without any gain. If you can switch out the processor for either the i5-760 or i5-750, do it.)

I'll post back if I can find a better system for cheaper.
 
Raswan

Raswan

Senior member
Jan 29, 2010
702
6
81
Last edited:
M

maniac5999

Senior member
Dec 30, 2009
505
14
81
To the OP: I can see that you're not the most computer literate person in the world so I'm going to do the best to keep it simple. (everyone else, please humor my gross oversimplifications) think of a computer like a series of pipes, you can only get as much water into your bathtub as the smallest pipe in the system. As such, going overboard with any one part is just a waste, as it will always be waiting on another. I'm going to go piece by piece here.

CPU: This is the part that says "Intel" or "AMD" With Intel you want it to say "Core i3, or Core i5 i5, or i7". higher is better, but anything that says any of those is MORE than enough. For AMD you want it to say X3 or X4, and list the speed as 3.0ghz or higher.

RAM: 4GB. Don't worry about anything else with RAM, as long as you have AT LEAST 4GB of it.

Video Card (GPU): This part is VERY important, since it draws the pretty pictures on the screen. A common amature mistake is to cheap out here. Frequently this is the most expensive part on gaming computers. Three Companies make graphics. Intel, AMD/ATi (they're the same company) and Nvidia. Now intel isn't good if you want to look at anything prettier than an Excel Spreadsheet, so you want either AMD/ATi or Nvidia.

AMD/ATi: uses a 4 number scheme, generally the higher number is better (but not always) I'd say that at minimum, you want a Radeon 5770 for WoW
Nvidia: uses a 3 number scheme, generally the higher number is better (but not always) I'd say that at minimum, you want a GTX 460 for WoW

Edit: here's a good choice for an inexpensive computer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229199
At your front door for $915, Just add yourself a new monitor, or re-use your current monitor.
 
Last edited:
jacktesterson

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
81
EliteRetard said:
Optionally, you could get an XPS 7100 AMD system with a six core AMD CPU and a 5870 for a similar price. The processor would be a little slower but the video card would be almost twice as fast. It might be a better balanced system overall, the increase in video card power would allow allot of other games to played at higher settings.
Click to expand...


This....
 
sgrinavi

sgrinavi

Diamond Member
Jul 31, 2007
4,537
0
76
If you jump on it there's a coupon code floating around for 15% off any Dell Home Outlet system...

(PM me if you have trouble finding it and I will send you the one I received via email)


Lanyap said:
To ConfusedWife, you need to be aware of the ship date if you get Dell to build you a system. The new 8100 system linked earlier has a Preliminary Ship Date: 1/5/2011.

They have a few already built systems that they can ship in a few days but they don't have anything nice like the 8100.

Other option, as mentioned above, is to find a nice system in Dell outlet. They ship fast and have the same warranty as a new system.
Click to expand...
 
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